“Really, the risk is truly increased for those women with class III or superobesity, and when we start to stratify ... those are the women we need to be concerned about in terms of our prenatal counseling,” said Dr. Platner, a maternal-fetal medicine fellow at Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
“What can we do to intervene before we get there?” asked Dr. Platner. Although data are lacking about what specific interventions might be able to reduce the risk of these serious complications, she said she could envision such steps as acquiring predelivery baseline ECGs and cardiac ultrasounds in women with higher levels of obesity and being sure to follow renal function closely as well.
The findings also may help physicians provide more evidence-based preconception advice to women who are among the 35% of American adults who have obesity.
Dr. Platner reported no relevant financial disclosures.
SOURCE: Platner M et al. ACOG 2018, Abstract 39I.